A Titanic Kind of Love
by TashaAnnMarie
Summary: Haley James boards the fateful ship Titanic with her fiancee Chris Keller only to find True Love with a poor man named Nathan Scott. What will happen when disaster strikes! Brucas as well.
1. Farewell Fair England

Chapter 1: Farewell Fair England ~~April 10, 1912~~

Haley's POV:

Stepping out of the car I adjusted my white hat to block the morning sun from my eyes. However, I still had to give my eyes time to adjust before I could clearly make out the thousands of people rushing around.

My fiancée was barking orders at the men who had rushed over to help load our trunks. I rolled my eyes, especially when my fiancée referred to himself yet again in the third person.

"Young man, Chris Keller would hate to find anything missing."

Ignoring Chris I turned to where all the fuss was directed to. There before me was the grandest ship ever created. Or so I had heard. The Titanic was massive, deemed "unsinkable" by many. Had I been there for any other reason I may have been more excited to take this voyage, however to me the Titanic appeared nothing more than another prison that would hold me in this sham of a life that I live.

I felt an arm drape over my shoulder, "So darling, what do you think? It's pretty impressive, huh?"

"It's alright. Looks like any other ship." I said.

"Haley, quit being a twit this is the most expensive, massive ship yet built." My older sister, Vivian, snapped from behind me.

Agreeing with Vivian Chris continued, "Titanic is 883 feet long, 92 feet wide, and weighs approximately 46, 330 tons. It would take the hand of god himself to take down that ship."

"I don't know, I kind of agree with Haley. Looks just like the same old boring ships we've been on before." My other sister, Taylor piped up. Taylor enjoyed getting under Vivian's nerves and would do or say almost anything to do so, even if she agreed with Vivian.

"Shut up Taylor. You should be lucky we even let you set sail with us. If I had half a mind I would leave your sorry rear end behind in Southampton." Vivian said, staring daggers at Taylor.

"Oh you two enough is enough." I said, lowering my voice so Chris could not hear me. "We all know the terms I agreed upon to do this. The only way I'm going through with it is if you two are right beside me. So if anyone should be complaining it should be me!"

Both looked as if they had more to say but chose to keep quiet. I was glad, to be perfectly honest, I can barely stand either one of my sisters. Vivian is the oldest of the three of us. She is 30 years old. Our parents passed away when I was 10 so Vivian was stuck raising me and trying to control Taylor. Viv, as we like to call her, has only been married once to a man named Thomas Leery. Thomas was a cold, heartless bastard. He was a perfect match for Vivian. Their marriage had been an arranged one and that was just fine by both of them. During their short marriage they didn't have any kids. About a year ago, Thomas caught a horrible cold and passed away in his sleep. He left Vivian with a modest amount of money to survive on her own with; however that is where my other sister Taylor comes in to the story. Taylor is without a doubt a wild child. She is three years older than me, just turning 21. She racked up a sizeable debt gambling and Vivian was forced to pay it off. Vivian wasn't going to pay it off until they threatened to kill both her and me. That left us flat broke.

It didn't take long for Viv to come up with a plan. She remembered that her late husbands' younger brother Dawson had a friend named Chris Keller that had shown an interest in Haley in the past. The Keller family is one of the wealthiest families in Southampton. They own several factories throughout England and are opening a couple in America. They appointed Chris to be in charge of the factories in New York City. Hence the reason why we are all being shuttled off to New York. Viv pretty much sold me over to Chris, told him I would agree to his hand in marriage if he promised to take care of our family. He readily agreed and a wedding date of May 15th had been set.

I really didn't care for Chris all that much, he was an alright looking guy. A little too skinny for my taste and so conceited it was sickening. But I've always been the kind of person that doesn't want to disappoint anyone and the James family name pretty much depends on my marrying Chris.

The only good thing that came about my meeting Chris is that I gained a new best friend. Thomas Leery's younger brother, Dawson, is married to a girl named Josephine, or as she preferred Joey Potter. We formed a quick friendship and a bond I've never had with any of my other friends. Joey was a lot like me, a victim of circumstances beyond her control. Joey's mother died of cancer when she was a young girl and her father was rotting somewhere in prison for many a different offence. Having no siblings or family to rely on Joey had no place to go.

However, her attractiveness left her with one option: to marry quickly. To her luck she happened to run into business tycoon Dawson Leery. Dawson's family was pretty wealthy and had been pressuring him to take a wife. Dawson, who always kind of seemed aloof, was never really good with women. So when he found this beautiful girl in need of a husband, he proposed and they married shortly after that.

Joey liked Dawson well enough. She said he was quiet and didn't really talk all that much. She did, however, complain about the lack of passion in their love life. Dawson is a by-the-book kind of guy and he keeps with that in everything he does. He follows Chris around like a little puppy dog, doing or saying whatever Chris tells him. Chris takes pleasure in this and enjoys bossing Dawson around.

I was heartbroken when Chris said we would be leaving Southampton and going to America, but was pleased when he said Joey and Dawson would be accompanying us. Dawson wanted to meet a director about getting involved in the motion picture industry. Silent movies were becoming quite the rage and Dawson took a shining to them.

So here I am boarding the grandest ship in the world with my fiancée, two sisters, best friend and her dopey husband. This sounds like its going to be an adventure.

Nathan's POV:

"Lucas get your ass in gear, we are going to be late." I yelled to my big brother.

"Why must you always yell, Nathan?" Brooke Scott, my sister-in-law, demanded doing the classic one hand on hip and giving a death glare that could kill.

"Just making sure my niece or nephew knows how his or her dad can be so slow sometimes." He said, gently patting her large belly. He knew if he mentioned the baby, she would soften. You don't want to piss Brooke Scott off, she'll have your head on a platter, but you mention the baby and she becomes such a softie.

"I guess you're right, we don't want to be late." Brooke said, looking at the clock. "Is Pacey ready?"

"Yes, he's outside waiting on us." I said, right as Lucas bounded down the stairs. Pacey Witter is my best friend. He was orphaned at the age of six. My parents Karen and Dan Scott took him in and raised him as one of their own.

"I'm ready. Nathan can you help me grab those bags over there so we can get on our way?" Lucas asked.

I grabbed the bags and followed Brooke and Lucas to the door. The three of us took one last look at the small cottage Lucas, Pacey and I had called home nearly our entire lives, Brooke for the past three years. Every childhood memory was tucked away in this small house. Every happy moment and every heartache. Both our mother and father had died in this home. My mother passed away when I was twelve. She had caught pneumonia and after two miserable weeks she passed away. Our father had it rough after Mother died, he didn't know what to do with himself. He kept on going for us but it was a struggle for him. He passed on two weeks after Brooke and Lucas got married. The doctor told us he had cancer but Lucas believes it was because his heart longed to be with our mother.

It was going to be sad leaving the only place I had ever called home but I was ready for a new start.

Lucas threw his arm around Brooke's shoulders and guided her on. Slowly I closed the door to our past.

"Suck it up Scott!" Pacey said, slapping me on the back. "We're going to America, the land of promise and happiness."

"Let's hope." I mumbled, knowing our little family was nearing total bankruptcy. We had heard that if you needed a new start America was the place to go, a place full of opportunity.

We arrived just in time for lice check. Once we were checked over we all finally got a chance to check out the grand ship that would take us to our new life. It was beautiful. It was huge, the biggest ship I'd ever seen. This would be our first time sailing on a ship this big and I was very excited. Since we arrived late we were quickly escorted on the ship and pointed in the direction where 3rd class passenger's rooms were.

The four of us shared a small room with the beds in a bunk bed style, two on one wall and the other two on the opposite wall, with two small dressers for our clothing. It wasn't much but it was clean and big enough for us.

After unpacking the few articles of clothing we brought with us we decided to go check out the 3rd class deck. The ship was just setting sail when we got out there. The deck was full of people waving farewell to their loved ones and friends they were leaving behind. I couldn't help but picture mother and father standing there, looking as they had when I was a child when both of them were healthy. I pictured my beautiful petite mother standing next to my father who always seemed to tower over her, she had her arm wrapped around his waist and they were both waving, their eyes full of happy tears for their children. I smiled a sad smile and turned to look at Luke and Pacey. They both looked as if they were imagining the same scene.

I was knocked out of my trance when Brooke let out a squeal.

"Luke, our peanut just kicked!" Brooke had begun calling the baby peanut because she hates it when people call the baby "it".

Luke put his hand on top of Brooke's belly and let out a jolly laugh when his hand moved slightly. "That is so neat. Guys come feel this." Luke told me and Pacey. We did and felt peanut kick hard inside Brooke's belly.

"I think its going to be a boy." Pacey said. "That's a strong kick, it just has to be."

"Girls can kick just as hard as boys." Brooke snapped back.

"No they can't Brooke Penelope Scott!!!" Pacey argued back a twinkle in his eye and a sly grin on his face. Pacey loves nothing more than to argue with Brooke.

"Oh yeah, you want to see about that." Brooke said pushing Lucas back and preparing to give Pacey a good kick. But Pacey jumped back in time. "You're lucky I'm as big as a whale, Pacey Witter, or you would have just gotten your rear end kicked."

"Sure, in your dreams." Pace joked back.

I took a seat on one of the white benches and began to examine my scenery. There were many different people of many different cultures aboard. Many of the people were with their families. Since it was 3rd class deck they were all just as poor as we were but you couldn't tell by looking at the happy expressions on their faces. I bet many of them were hoping for a fresh start as well.

My eyes wondered up to the 1st class deck when I saw one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. She had dark blonde hair that was piled on top of her head. Her lips were full and pouty and from what I could tell the rest of her was just as beautiful as her face. She was looking out over the ocean and I longed to see what color her eyes were. She was standing next to a pretty brunette girl and they appeared to be having a serious discussion by the somber expressions on their faces.

The brunette took the blonde's hand and appeared to be comforting her. I couldn't help but feel the need to fight my way up to the 1st class deck and ask the beautiful blonde what was wrong. I knew I could never do that because I was only a 3rd class citizen with no rights to mingle with the likes of the two women standing there. But my heart felt a tug almost like it was being pulled into action.

I stood up thinking to myself how I was going to get onto the first class deck when Pacey grabbed my arm. "You know we can't go up there Nate."

I looked at him surprised. He had noticed the beautiful girls as well.

Pacey continued. "I wish we could, I would love to introduce myself to the brunette one. But for one thing they are 1st class and second they are probably married."

Hiding my relief that he wasn't interested in the blonde I agreed with him. "You're right Pace. I sometimes forget my station in life."

I sat back down and we watched as two men approached the girls. Both men were tall, blonde and lanky and of course dressed in expensive suits. Of course she's with someone, I thought. A girl like that doesn't stay single long. Though I took notice that neither girl looked happy to see their escorts, rather they seemed melancholy. Both girls linked their arms with their suitors and walked away.

Figuring I would probably never see the girl again I turned my attention back to Lucas and Brooke's discussion on whether their peanut was a girl or a boy. But deep in my heart I yearned for a chance to meet the mystery woman.


	2. Where Paths May Cross

**Thanks for the reviews and thanks for everyone who is reading my story. This is my One Tree Hill take of the movie Titanic. I was watching the movie and imagining what it would have been like if Haley and Nathan were the main characters and I just had to write the story. I hope you like it. I was also a fan of Dawson's Creek and I wanted Haley to have a friend to confide into so therefore I had to add one of my favorite TV couples Pacey & Joey. If you've never watched Dawson's Creek don't worry, it will not affect the story at all. This story will switch back and forth between Haley and Nathan's Point of View. Thanks again!!!!!! Also this chapter has a short sexual scene that my not be suited for everyone.**

Chapter 2: Where Paths May Cross ~~April 10, 1912~~

Haley's POV:

I sighed as I pulled my gloves on, getting ready for dinner. It was going to be another night of fake politeness and fake interest with a bunch of fake people. I was trying to will myself to have the strength to make it through the evening. At least I would have one true friend by my side. What would I do without Josephine Leery?

I was looking in the mirror checking to see if every hair was in place when Chris came into the room.

"You looked exquisite, my love." Chris said, coming up behind me and checking his reflection. "We make one dashing couple. I bet you we are the best looking couple on this ship."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes as Chris said this. He wouldn't have noticed though, his eyes never left his own reflection.

Finally tearing his eyes away Chris said, "As usual I plan on joining Dawson for a smoke after dinner. Feel free to explore the ship with Josephine. Though please stay in first class areas."

"Thanks for the permission Christopher." I said sarcastically.

"Not a problem, sweets." He said kissing my cheek and leaving the room. He either chose not to acknowledge my sarcastic reply or he just didn't care.

Dinner was just how I imagined it to be. The same boring talk, the same uppity people making sure everyone knew they were better than everyone else. Sure not everyone in first class is like this, but I would stake my life on the fact the most were. I couldn't wait for dinner to be over so I could go explore with Joey.

I almost yelped for joy when the men began to stand up and announce their exit. Chris took my hand in his and gave it a soft kiss. I wish I could say I felt something but I didn't. He knelt down to whisper in my ear "Remember what I said Darling."

Rather than argue I just nodded my head.

"Have fun and if you don't mind I would like to stop by your room and check on you before I retire to bed." He said more as a statement then a question. He walked off before I could reply.

I've managed to keep Chris away for the simple fact that in proper society a woman keeps herself a virgin until her wedding day. But as of lately he's become much more persistent on being alone with me. I just want to put it off until the wedding day. I've let him kiss me but I haven't let him do anything more than that. My sister, Taylor, told me to test him out before I marry him. She said she couldn't imagine being married to a man that is bad in bed, but I've never listened to my sister and I'm not about to start now. I often wonder what sex is going to be like. I also wonder how much better it would be if I was in love with the man.

"Haley, you ready?" Joey asked me breaking me from my thoughts.

"You better believe it." I said grateful to be spending some time with my best friend.

We stopped to get our coats and headed out to walk on the deck. We talked about everything and anything. It was cold but we barely noticed. We were so into our conversations that we didn't notice the two men standing against the rail until we bumped into them.

"Excuse us." I said apologetically, as the two tall dark haired men turned around. I was met with the most beautiful pair of blue eyes I'd ever seen. I had to tilt my head up to actually see them because the man was so much taller then me.

"No problem, ladies" said the taller one with the amazing blue eyes. His eyes widened as if he recognized me but I knew he had to be mistaken. I don't believe I could ever forget a man as good looking as him.

"My name is Nathan Scott. This here is Pacey Witter." He pointed to the slightly shorter dark haired guy next to him.

I tore my eyes away from Mr. Handsome to check out the other guy. Pacey was very good looking too. Not as good looking as Nathan, but definitely a looker.

"Hello ladies." Pacey greeted us.

"Hello." Joey said. "My name is Josephine Leery and this here is Haley James."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Nathan said, taking my hand and kissing it.

I couldn't deny the sparks I felt when Nathan kissed my hand, sparks that had been absent when Chris had kissed my hand just the same way only a short hour ago. I felt the heat rise in my face. In all of seventeen years I had never had that reaction to a man before. It worried me but at the same time intrigued me.

I looked out the corner of my eye as Pacey kissed Joey's hand as well. Joey blushed and smiled the half smile she does when she's embarrassed. I would have to ask Joey about that later. I turned my attention back to Nathan.

"Are you ladies enjoying your evening stroll?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, it's a bit cold but a beautiful night. Not a cloud in the sky, perfect for gazing at the stars." I said, looking up at the beautiful twinkling stars above.

"Oh yes it is a beautiful night. Would you mind if we join you for a bit?" Nathan asked.

I hesitated, it's not exactly wise to go un-chaperoned with two men you don't know but they seemed harmless. I looked at Joey and she just looked back at me. I could see in her eyes that she was torn and was leaving the decision to me. I looked up into Nathan's beautiful blue eyes and knew I would regret it if we didn't. "We would love for you to join us."

Never before had I felt more comfortable opening up to a stranger. He didn't seem to have much trouble opening up to me either. Hours flew by. Before we knew it we had walked circles around the ship. Nathan told me about his mother and father, how Pacey came into their lives, his older brother Lucas and Lucas's pregnant wife Brooke. He told me about his happy childhood up until his mother passed on. I told him about how my parents had died in a fire when I was ten and how my sister Vivian raised me. I told him about Taylor and her wild ways. And then I told him about Chris. I left out the small detail of why I was marrying Chris though.

"I saw the engagement band on your finger." Nathan said quietly. "I put two and two together. So when is the big day?"

I looked down at my feet. "On May 15th I will become Mrs. Christopher Keller."

"Oh wow. That's not too far off." He said, looking down at his feet too. "Keller you say? They own those factories in Southampton don't they?"

I nodded my head.

"I worked at one of them for a short time. I don't believe I ever met Chris though."

"No you wouldn't have. He never set foot in any of them. I'm curious to see how well he'll run the New York factory." I said not knowing what to say. I'm not sure why I felt so awkward talking about my fiancée but I did.

"So what are your plans once you get to New York?" I asked.

"Well, I think we plan to head out west. We haven't decided if we're going to stay in a city or buy a farm out in the country. I've worked many odd jobs so I'm well skilled at different things and so I shouldn't have difficulty finding some kind of job. We've been saving up money so we could come out here and start over. I think Brooke would rather live in a city though. She doesn't have much longer before the baby is born and I know she wants to be settled in when that happens. I'll be happy wherever their happiest. It's important for us to stay together."

"It sounds like your family is really close. I wish I had that with my family." I said, envy obvious in my voice.

"Aren't they traveling with you?" He asked.

"Yes, but for sisters we couldn't be more different. We've barely gotten along. The only thing we have in common is the fact that we all loved our parents dearly." I said.

"I see."

"Haley." Joey said, stepping up between Nathan and me. "We need to be getting back. I didn't realize how late it had gotten. Dawson and Chris will be looking for us soon."

"Oh yes, of course." I said, not really wanting to end this nice visit with Nathan. "Nathan, it's been a pleasure to meet you. I must be getting back now."

Nathan reached down and took me hand. "The pleasure has been all mine Haley James", he whispered. He dropped a kiss on my hand. His lips lingering longer than what was customary. He gently dropped my hand and smiled. I couldn't think of any words to say so I nodded and made my exit with Joey in tow.

My heart was beating fast and I felt dazed. I was barely able to get out a goodnight to Joey, who was looking a bit like I felt, when we passed her door. I was ready to get to my room. I was ready to be alone with my thoughts. I was ready to dissect these feelings going on inside my body for a man I had just met, a man that was not my fiancée.

But of course, as per usual in my life, things did not go as planned. Sitting on my bed waiting for me was Chris, and he did not look happy.

"Christopher, what are you doing in here?" I asked.

"Don't you remember after dinner I told you I would like to stop by and see you before I retired to my own room? So I stopped by and was shocked to see you had yet to make it to bed. Do you mind telling me what you and Joey have been up to?" he demanded not even giving me a chance to respond. "Do you have any idea what time it is? You are a lady and ladies don't gallivant around at all hours of the night. Tell me now what was so interesting that had you occupied for this long."

I tried to gather my patience, though it was hard. I hate nothing more than being told what to do. My entire life someone has always been telling me what to do. Yet I do as they say and never disagree. "We were just walking around talking, girl talk kind of thing. We lost track of time and was surprised ourselves by how late it had gotten." I left out the two handsome boys we met.

Chris seemed to accept my answer. He never asked another question just looked at me as if he was accessing something about me. I started to feel insecure as he gaze began to lower to my breasts. He walked over to me and helped me out of my overcoat. Without my coat he was able to have a better look at the tops of my breasts. He licked his lips and I got nervous.

"Haley dear, I wish you would let me touch you. I want nothing more than to be able to caress you and be with you." He said with his voice full of lust. He began to leave a trail of kisses on my neck that was heading down towards my breasts.

How much easier this would be if I had any kind of feelings for him, I thought, or if he was Nathan. That thought left me stunned. I couldn't be allowing myself to think of Nathan that way. I was engaged to be married for the love of god. Nathan could never be an option. He's 3rd class with nothing financially to offer my family, Vivian would have my head. I must force these thoughts away.

I don't know if it was because I was lost in my desperation about Nathan, but I had let Chris free one of my breast from my dress. He was breathing heavy as he continued to play with my nipple. Suddenly aware of the situation I pulled back and covered myself up.

"I'm sorry Chris. I just don't believe in doing any of this before we are married. We've had this argument too many times." I said, hoping he would just leave. "It will be more special if we wait for our wedding night." I lied. I doubted it would ever be special.

He did not even try to hide his disappointment and frustration. "Fine", was all he said before he stood up and exited my room. His anger was evident when he slammed my door.

My head was swirling with confusion as I dressed for bed. After taking out all the pins and brushing my long dark blonde hair I finally tucked myself in and prepared for restless night sleep, and it was exactly that for all my dreams were haunted by a pair of piercing blue eyes.


	3. Stuck In My Mind

Thanks again for the reviews.

I'm not sure how long this story is going to be. There will be several chapters for sure. I've got an idea of how it's going to end and who will survive and who will not. Just because this is a take of Titanic doesn't necessarily mean it will end the same. So I hope you can stick with it to see how it ends!!! I'm hoping to update every day or every other day, just depends on my writing mood. :)

Chapter 3: Stuck In My Mind ~~April 11, 1912~~

Haley's POV:

_"Haley, it's time!" Joey nudged me, a look of apprehension spread across her beautiful face. _

_"Alright, let's get this over with." I said, grabbing my bouquet. _

_Joey gave me one last look before opening up the door and heading down the isle. _

_I waited until I heard my cue before heading through the doorway myself. Everyone was on their feet watching me as I slowly made my way down the isle toward my destiny. I looked into Christopher's eyes as I walked towards him, wanting nothing more than to see some kind of hope for the future. Hope that maybe I could eventually love this man. However I would not find that, his eyes were blank and he wore a smirk on his face that said "I won." _

_I closed my eyes for a second, cursing God for the path my life was about to take. When I opened them, however, I was staring into the sky blue eyes that belonged to none other than Nathan Scott. _

_I was stunned into silence. Nathan seemed to ignore my expression, because he smiled warmly at me and took both my hands in his. _

_"Haley James, you are my fate. You are my forever." Then he leaned in to kiss me. His lips where mere inches from mine when …. _

"Miss James." Renalda, my maid, called as she gently shook me from my sleep. Of course right when it was getting good, I thought. "Mr. Keller wishes to have a word with you before he's off to his meeting with Mr. McPhee."

"Thank you Renalda. Please tell Christopher I'll be there in a moment, I just need to get dressed."

"Yes Miss James." Renalda said, rushing out the door.

I wondered what Chris wanted as I washed my face. Hopefully he didn't want to re-hash the unpleasantness of last night. Renalda returned and helped me to get myself together.

As soon as I was presentable I went out onto our private sitting room where Christopher was sipping coffee and reading through some documents.

"Good morning Christopher." I said, taking the seat across from him.

He didn't say anything but nodded his head in response. He continued reading.

After a few more moments he lifted his head up to study me. "Haley, I somewhat understand why you want to wait to make love until after we are husband and wife. I get that it's the respectable thing to do, but last night after you rejected me yet again I started thinking. What if you try to withhold from me after we are married? What am I to do then? So I went and called on Taylor."

"You went to Taylor!" I was shocked. "Why would you do that Chris?"

"I needed a little insurance. I'm a man, Haley. I have needs that have to be met."

"So you went to see my sister?"

"I did not have sex with Taylor. However, I did set up arrangements." Chris said, putting his cup down and picking up the documents. He handed them over to me. "I typed these up this morning. This is a binding contract."

I took the papers from him, my hands shaking.

"As you will see the contract states that if you withhold from me in an intimate nature I can and will go to your sister Taylor and if I do so chose to go to Taylor, you cannot use it against me to divorce me. Taylor's already agreed to it. As you already know both of your sister's will be living with us, all I have to do is supply your sister with a small monthly allowance. Taylor signed hers as did Vivian. All I need is your signature on that one there."

I had never been so angry at someone in my life. I stood up and wadded the contract up in my hands. "Like hell I will sign this. If you want Taylor you should go make her be your wife instead of me!"

Angry, Chris stood up so quick he knocked over the little table causing the plates and cups to shatter on the floor. "Now listen here, Haley. Your sister is a little whore. I could never make her my wife, no one respects her and Chris Keller is man to be respected!"

"But it doesn't matter if I respect you?" I threw back. "Cause if it does, I do not respect you! What kind of man asks his fiancée to sign such a thing?"

Chris got up in my face causing me to back up into the wall until he had me pinned. "You will respect me, damn it, and you will sign that contract if you know what's good for you! I could've had any woman I wanted but I chose you. I'm helping your good for nothing family so your precious father's name isn't tainted by scandal. I will not go without sex, Haley, and I'm not an idiot. You stiffen every time I touch you. You're a prude Haley James! I will not suffer through a sexless life."

"I don't want to sign that contract, Christopher. It's disgusting!"

Chris roughly grabbed my face with his right hand and squeezed. Tears sprung to my eyes, it hurt so badly. "Then I won't marry you Haley. I'll send you right back to Southampton. You and your sisters can live in the gutters with the rest of the sewer rats!"

The fighter in me wanted to kick him as hard as I could and tell him exactly where he and his contract could go. But I knew we couldn't go back to Southampton. They had already taken our home, we would be homeless. My father's good name would be ruined. We would be shamed and after that I would never find a suitable husband to marry me.

"Fine, I'll sign it." I whispered, defeat echoing through me voice.

"Thanks babe." He said. He gave me a kiss on my lips and released my face from his hand. He smoothed out my dress and wiped my tears away with his thumb. "You know if you surprise me and not end up being a prude in bed we will never have to mention the contract again."

I didn't comment. He got the contract and unfolded it and tried to smooth it out the best he could. Grabbing his pen he brought it over for me to sign. I reluctantly signed it and watched as he went into his room to put it in his safe. I heard him order Renalda to clean up the mess in the sitting room before he left to go to his meeting.

Fighting my tears, I also left. I needed to talk to my friend. The only person who would understand what I was going through. I hoped Joey was able to talk to me because I needed her now more than ever.

Nathan's POV:

I had dreamt about the beautiful girl with the chocolate brown eyes all night long. Haley James was everything I've ever wanted in a woman; beautiful, elegant, graceful, sweet, and that smile of hers could melt a block of ice in a matter of minutes.

But that doesn't change the fact that she's engaged to Christopher Keller, a wealthy man with a lot more to offer her than poor me could. I knew I should just give up thinking about her and imagining a way to court her. But I couldn't erase the sad look in her eyes when she talked about Christopher. She didn't seem happy to be marrying him. I could be wrong but something was definitely amiss. Maybe that was why I was drawn to her, maybe she needs my help.

"What is on your mind, Nathan?" Pacey asked me, lifting his head up from the book he was reading.

"Haley James." I said, honestly. "She's stuck in my mind and I can't get her out."

Pacey replaced his bookmark and shut his book. "I know what you mean. I've read the same sentence over and over again but can't seem to get Josephine out of my head."

I knew Pacey had hit if off with Josephine so I was not surprised by his confession. "What are we going to do Pacey?"

"Get over it, Nate. That's what we're going to do." Pacey said solemnly. "Joey's a married woman and Haley's spoken for. We have no choice but to back away."

"I know Pace. But I don't think it's going to be that easy." I admitted. "They both seemed so sad. I think they need us."

"I picked up on Joey's sadness too Nate. We can't pursue them, it's too late and if we do we're just going to end up getting hurt in the end."

"I disagree. I think we should go talk to them again. Find out for sure if it is too late or not. If they want nothing to do with us, we'll back away and they'll never have to see us again." I suggested. "I don't think I can walk away from her just yet, until I know for sure."

Pacey mulled over my idea for a few moments before agreeing with me. "Alright we sneak up to 1st class and find them. If they tell us to go then we go and we don't come back."

Haley's POV:

I was sitting in chair next to Joey on the 1st class promenade deck when I told her about the contract Chris had me sign.

"Haley, that's terrible. Why would he do something so terrible? As if he doesn't have enough to hold over your head to keep you with him he has to go and add more drama to the mix."

"He just wants to punish me for rebuffing his sexual advances."

"You know that's where I got lucky with Dawson. That's the last thing he's interested in. We made love on our wedding night and it was horrible. It lasted only a few moments and neither one of us enjoyed it. I think he was hoping I would get pregnant after that first time. He was so disappointed when I found out I wasn't. Now we only make love once a month and that's only to try and conceive. His mother is all over us to provide an heir to the family. Did I tell you we got pregnant once?"

"No." I said, surprised.

"Yes, carried it only a few months before I miscarried. Dawson blames himself. I'm not sure but I believe he thinks God is punishing him for being different."

Joey had recently confided in me that she believed Dawson was more into men than women. She couldn't be sure, but he lacked interest in not only her but every woman he's ever encountered. Dawson had been there for her when she needed a helping hand so she chose to ignore the situation. She assumed when he found her he believed he had found a good cover story for the inner turmoil inside of himself. So I guess you could say they used each other.

"I'm sorry for your loss." I said, sadly. I knew how lonely Joey was and that she longed to have someone that would truly love her.

"Thank you Haley. It's been hard but I'm hoping it will work out the next time." She didn't look too confident about that. "So what did you think of Nathan and Pacey?" she said clearly wanting to change the subject.

I smiled, "Very nice guys."

"And…" she asked with a sly smile.

I laughed, "Very good looking too!"

"That's very true my friend."

"Do you know what the best part was though? The conversation we had. I felt like I really connected to Nathan. Not just in the physical sense since he's so attractive but I felt like I could tell him anything. I've never had that with Christopher and I know I never will." I said honestly. "I'm dying to go find Nathan right now just so I can spend time with him. Is that crazy?"

Joey mulled over my question a minute before responding, "No it's not Haley. I'm a married woman. I made a commitment to Dawson, but ever since last night I can't get Pacey out of my mind. He told me how he has always dreamed of buying a small boat and sailing around the world. Can you believe I actually entertained the idea of joining him? That didn't last long though after I looked down at my hand and saw my ring."

"Do you think Dawson would ever let you go if he thought you had found true love?"

"No, I don't think he's ever going to be ready to face his true self and let the world know about how he really feels. Not that I blame him, this world isn't very accepting of people that are different. He needs me to help keep us his charade. Plus Dawson is too conceited to let anyone think he lost me to someone else, especially someone poor."

"How did we both find ourselves in these ridiculous situations?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

"It looks as if we're going to have even more to ponder. Look who is coming our way." Joey said, looking over my shoulder.

I turned around the see Nathan and Pacey heading our way. My breath caught at the site of Nathan. He was even more beautiful in the daylight. Tall and muscular he looked like a walking statue, his dark black hair shining in the afternoon sun. You could tell he was a hard worker; his skin was a golden brown from working in the sun. As he got closer a smirk spread across his face. Not like the conceited one Chris gives me, but a playful one that reminded me of a young boy about to do something he knew he shouldn't. Maybe that wasn't so far off.

Nathan's POV:

My heartbeat quickened once I laid my eyes on the beautiful Miss James. She had her back to me and appeared to be in deep conversation with Josephine. I was glad her and Joey were alone, obviously made it a lot easier to approach them.

Joey saw us coming first and alerted Haley to our approach. Haley spun around, obviously a bit shocked to see us. I got shy all of a sudden so I gave her my trademark smirk to cover my anxiety. She smiled gorgeously back at me and instantly I was back at ease. She seemed glad to see me. This wasn't a mistake to come.

"Hello ladies." Pacey greeted, taking Joey's hand in his eyes. I echoed his greeting and did the same to Haley.

"Pacey." Joey greeted back, gently biting her lower lip.

"Nathan, it's nice to see you again." Haley smiled shyly.

"We had been thinking about you two and thought we would come see what you had planned for the day?" I asked, there was no reason beating around the bush.

They exchanged glances and sort of shrugged their shoulders before answering. "We have nothing planned until dinner. We had just been enjoying the sun." Haley responded.

"Would you mind if we joined you?" I asked, crossing my fingers in my head that they would say yes.

"Sure, that would be lovely." Haley said, nodding to the two empty seats across from them.

We sat down and picked up where the conversations had ended last night. All four of us enjoyed the flowing conversation for hours. It was amazing how the four of us got along so well, sometimes feeling like we were old friends instead of new acquaintances. The suspicions about the girls happiness was confirmed during our talks. They finally opened up about their husbands and how they were either married or about to be married for convenience or duty rather than love. I couldn't lie to myself and say I wasn't at least a little bit happy about this fact. It game me a chance. Haley wasn't married yet. Unfortunately for Pacey, Joey was already married.

We were so into our conversation that we failed to notice the two approaching figures until they were standing right next to us.

"What do we have here?" a lanky man with blonde hair asked. He put his hand on Haley's shoulder as he said this. I took it that must be Chris. The other tall blonde guy went and stood behind Joey but didn't touch her or say anything.

"Oh…Christopher this is Pacey Witter and Nathan Scott." Haley said her voice shaky. "We were just…uh."

"Nice to meet you," I interrupted standing up and extending my hand. Neither guy accepted my offer of a handshake so I put my hands in my pocket. "We just came up here to return Miss James's wrap." I lied pointing to the wrap that was currently in Haley's lap. "It had blown down to our deck and we thought we ought to return it."

"How noble of you," Christopher sarcastically commented. "Well now that it's returned, why don't we let you make your way back to 3rd class. I would hate for our ladies to take up anymore of your precious time."

"Christopher, you're being quite rude to these nice gentlemen." Haley said standing up as well. "It was very nice of them to go out of their way to return my wrap to me."

Christopher gave Haley and icy glare. It took everything I had in me not to smack that expression right off his face. "Of course my dear, what was I thinking?" Chris was silent for a moment before giving everyone at the table an evil smile. "How about this, to make up for my terrible manners, you gentlemen can join us for dinner? Tell us all about your _interesting_ lives. What do you say?"

I was seething; he really thought we'd join his snotty ass for dinner. I was getting ready to tell him to shove off when Pacey spoke up. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

Chris and Dawson exchanged glances and laughed, "Terrific, we will see you then. Come on ladies, it's time to go."

Haley and Joey stood up, shooting us both apologetic looks.

"See you at dinner." Haley said before following Chris inside.

As soon as they were gone I turned to Pacey. "Why the hell are we going to dinner with those bastards?"

"Because, Nathan, it's all a game to them. They, especially Chris, seem to love to be in control. They figured we would turn down the invitation. The best way to stick it to them is to accept. They think we are going to show up and look like fools. But they've got another thing coming. We need to go and ask around to see if we can borrow some nice suits." Pacey stood up. "We don't have long."

I got up and followed Pacey. It appeared we were going to be having a very interesting dinner tonight.


End file.
